You can use the IPCS CTRACE subcommand to format your installation-supplied application trace data. To use IPCS to format this data, you provide the following:

CTRACE format table

Informs IPCS of the component trace entries (CTEs) and how they are to be formatted. Through the FMTTAB parameter on the CTRACE macro with the DEFINE parameter, you specify the name of the load module containing the CTRACE format table. With Release 10, you can define components through the CTRACE statement of the BLSCUSER parmlib member or other parmlib members starting with BLSCECT.

See CTRACE Format Table.

IPCS model

Specifies a template for the format of a particular CTE. A model is optional.

See IPCS Models.

CTRACE formatter

Consists of executable code that formats a CTE. The code can use an IPCS model. A formatter is optional.

See CTRACE Formatter.

CTRACE buffer find exit routine

Locates trace buffers, if the buffers are externalized in a dump. The routine places the locations of the buffers into the equate symbol (ES) record. You place the name of the routine in the CTRACE format table. The CTRACE buffer find exit routine is required.

See CTRACE Buffer Find Exit Routine.

CTRACE filter/analysis (CTRF) exit routine

Filters trace entries for formatting purposes or for analysis of the data. The routine applies filter options to each CTE. You place the name of the routine in the CTRACE format table. The CTRF routine is optional.

See CTRACE Filter/Analysis (CTRF) Exit Routine.

After you set up the table, model, and routines, IPCS does the following in response to a CTRACE subcommand:

1. Locates the CTRACE format table.
2. Loads the CTRACE buffer find exit routine. Calls the routine repeatedly to locate the trace buffers in the dump until all trace buffers are located.
3. Loads the CTRF exit routine, if you specified one. Calls the routine for each entry in the trace buffers.

   If you did not specify a CTRF exit routine, IPCS formats all CTEs in the buffers that pass the component trace global filters, such as timestamp range selection.

4. Formats all CTEs that pass the filters. To format the CTEs, IPCS uses your CTRACE formatter, your models, or both, if provided. If not provided, IPCS displays the information in hexadecimal.

Figure 1 illustrates the interactions among the following. In the figure, the format table is located in SYS1.MIGLIB. However, the format table can be in any library available to IPCS.

ABC

An application, running in ASID(01), that generates component trace data. ABC issues the CTRACE macro to define the ABC application to the component trace service.

IPCS

IPCS running in the user's TSO/E address space. From IPCS, a user enters the CTRACE subcommand CTRACE COMP(ABC) to request that trace data from ABC be processed.

FORMAT

The name of the load module containing the CTRACE format table. FORMAT contains non-executable code that defines a CTRACE format table (FORMTAB) through multiple invocations of the ITTFMTB macro.

FORMTAB

The name of the CTRACE format table.

FINDRTN

The name of the CTRACE buffer find exit routine.

FILTERTN

The name of the CTRF exit routine.

FORMAT1

The name of the formatter associated with event identifier 1, as specified by the ITTFMTB macro.

MODEL1

The name of the model associated with event identifier 2, as specified by the ITTFMTB macro.